Marseille supporter arrested again
A Marseille supporter convicted of attacking a police officer in Spain ahead of a Champions League match last year was again detained following a pre-match scuffle, police said Monday.
Santos Mirasierra was arrested Sunday along with two other Marseille supporters in the northern city of Lille before a French league match between Lille and Marseille.
Mirasierra, who was detained last year in Madrid ahead of a match in between Marseille and Atletico Madrid and handed a 3 1/2-year prison sentence, was released last December on ?6,000 ($7,740) bail after he appealed the sentence.
Lawyers for Mirasierra argued there was not enough evidence linking him to the attack on the police officer and that Spanish authorities were punishing him arbitrarily. The case sparked widespread indignation among French fans.
On Sunday, Mirasierra and the two others spotted a man wearing a scarf emblazoned with the logo of Marseilles rival, Paris Saint-Germain, at a train station in Lille and attacked him, police officials said. The man was hospitalized with an ear injury, officials said.
The three men were detained shortly after the incident and placed in police custody. They were to be handed over to prosecutors later Monday.
Marseille president Pape Diouf refused to comment on the case, insisting he didnt have enough details about the incident. Diouf had earlier said he was stunned by Mirasierras December conviction.
Marseille won Sundays match 2-1, bolstering its lead at the top of the French league standings.
